Sabina Juniper, Another Happy Accident

The original caption from Milan Karpíšek reads “Sabina of my friend ready for a show.” From this we might assume that the tree belongs to a friend and was styled by Milan, but we know about assumptions. The trees shown here are from Milan Karpíšek’s fb photos (Milan is from the Czech Republic). Like many of the bonsai featured here, these were discovered by accident (aka stumbled upon). A happy accident as it turns out After yesterday’s post featuring three Sabina (aka Savin) junipers (Juniperus sabina). I went back to see others we’ve featured over the years and was surprised by just how many there … Continue reading Sabina Juniper, Another Happy Accident

Finding a Way to Improve Any Bonsai

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Pemphis acidula that was submitted by Nurul Fajri (the original photo is below). Traveling today, so it’s archive time. We first featured the critique back in November, 2013. The tree is exceptional and worth another look When I opened my email from Robert Steven and glanced at the before photo (below), I thought it was the after photo. But only for a moment. It’s the pot that gave it away. The rest looked pretty good (some of us might trade our entire collections for a tree like this). But not good enough for Robert who always … Continue reading Finding a Way to Improve Any Bonsai

Shape Shifting by Robert Steven

Before and after by Robert Steven. The tree is a Casuarina that originally belonged to Ismail Saleh and now belongs to Robert. Here’s part of what Robert wrote about this transformation… “I changed the viewing angle, squeezed the dead part close to the living part then reset the foliage pads. Sooner or later the dead part will rot, then I should redesign the composition again” Here’s a little history from Robert about this famous tree… “The Legend ! This is one of the oldest Casuarina bonsai in Indonesia which has been going through a long path of transformation and survival, yet still keeps changing … Continue reading Shape Shifting by Robert Steven

One Trunk Dead, the Other Alive & the Importance of Identification

Pine with parallel slanting trunks that start as a single tree and split at the base. One trunk dead, the other alive. It caught my attention because it’s a somewhat unusual slanting tree with the pot and the visual weight of the foliage balancing each other perfectly. This and the other photos shown here were posted by Scott Lee. The caption reads Back in the studio with Peter Tea and Bonsai Kazem #japaneseart Sticking with Scott Lee (see yesterday’s post) we’ve got three photos that he posted on facebook recently. Unfortunately, none are identified. I’m not sure why so many people put … Continue reading One Trunk Dead, the Other Alive & the Importance of Identification

The Best American Bonsai & Other Compelling Reasons to Wake up in Rochester

This twisty bunjin style collected Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) shows what can happen when a tenacious tree hangs onto a Florida shoreline that is ravaged by repeated tropical storms and occasional hurricanes. It belongs to Doug Hawley who has been refining this tree for about ten years (this was written in 2009). Height 28″ Pot by Sara Rayner To whet your bonsai appetites, I’ve decided to devote all our posts between now the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition to North American Bonsai We’ll start with three photos which were originally from a book titled North American Bonsai* (out of print), that we originally featured in a post … Continue reading The Best American Bonsai & Other Compelling Reasons to Wake up in Rochester

Japanese Maple Bonsai Through Three Seasons

Japanese maple in its fall brilliance. From the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Continuing with Maples at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum we came up with this one from our archives. It’s a single Japanese maple in three stages of it’s annual migration through the seasons. There’s a lot to like about this tree but there’s one question that arises; have you ever seen a bonsai with such a flat top? This is especially pronounced in the fall and summer photos Continued below… BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL ALL BONSAI TOOLS & GARDEN TOOLS 25% OFF LIST PRICES special ends Sunday, August 25th Winter. Maybe this is the … Continue reading Japanese Maple Bonsai Through Three Seasons

Maple Bonsai Perfection & New Lower Wire Prices

This Trident maple on root-on-rock is called Soshun-no-fu. It’s estimated age is 80 years. Like the other two trees in this post it’s from The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum Lots to do to get ready for the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (Rochester, NY, September 8th & 9th), so we’ll make this one short and sweet. All three Maple bonsai shown here are from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan* BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL ALL BONSAI TOOLS & GARDEN TOOLS 25% OFF LIST PRICES special ends Sunday, August 25th Japanese maple named Musashi-ga-oka, estimated age 150 years Speaking of the 6th U.S. National … Continue reading Maple Bonsai Perfection & New Lower Wire Prices

Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

Our selection of over 50 high quality and affordable Roshi Bonsai Tools come in both stainless and high carbon steel, and right now our Stainless Roshi tool are 40% off list and our Cabon Steel Roshi tool are 30% off list ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT 40% OFF ALL ROSHI STAINLESS BONSAI TOOLS 30% OFF ALL ROSHI CARBON STEEL BONSAi tools SPECIAL ENDS FRIDAY, AUGUST 10th at 11:59pm EDT Our famous Roshi tools are known for precision, durability and beauty and very reasonable prices – now even more reasonable – When I fist saw Roshi tools I was struck by their beauty. Then, when … Continue reading Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

It takes a strong tree to handle a pot like this. This Pistacio (Pistacia chinensis Bunge) has at least two features that qualify: its muscular trunk which works well with the depth of the pot (deep pots with thin trunks just don’t work) and its lushly hued full crown which contrasts with the pot’s brilliance. Today is the first day of a short summer vacation. We’ll try to keep Bark going by employing some favorites from our archives. This one is from January, 2016 (with a couple revisions today) The trees shown here are all Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s creations. Cheng is famous for his Sidiao method (a … Continue reading Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot

Sweet! I thought you might like to see this. It’s Carl Morrow’s Trident maple in a very well chosen and appropriately sized pot (Carl sent photos in an email, so no links) Last week we featured a Robert Steven critique of a Trident maple that belongs to Carl Morrow (Size Matters & Small Is Beautiful). It was a repost of a one we originally did in September, 2010. Carl took Robert’s advice and repotted the tree into a smaller pot, though not the same pot Robert used in his simulation (it’s hard to find simulated pots!). As it turns out, I think … Continue reading Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot